The old village road running through the old border region the Western Cultural Route of the River Kymijoki takes you from Loviisa and the Baltic Sea through Elimäki to the villages of Iitti and the lakes of the upper course of the Kymijoki River.

The 75-kilometre-long asphalted road runs through scenic rural landscapes with numerous sights and historic locations along the way, as well as summer events and festivals. There's plenty to see and experience for the whole family.

Red-Hatted Scarecrows Show the Way

The Cultural Road is easy to reach from all directions. It is conveniently located close to three main roads of Southern Finland – Highway 7 (E18) between Helsinki and Kotka, Highway 6 between Helsinki and Kouvola, and Highway 12 between Lahti and Kouvola – and you can access the Cultural Road at the Loviisa town and the Ruotsinpyhtää village junctions, the Elimäki junction in southern Kouvola and the Kausala junction in Iitti.

After leaving Kausala, the commercial and administrative centre of the municipality of Iitti, the village of Iitti – voted the most beautiful village in Finland, is only five scenic kilometres away on a ridge between three lakes.

From Iitti there is a direct connection through Kuusankoski to Kouvola and Lappeenranta. If you take the road to north, you can drive round lake Pyhäjärvi through which the River Kymijoki runs.

Places worth visiting include the village of Jaala and the old Verla mill, which is an Unesco World Heritage site, and the town of Heinola.

If you choose the western route, you will come to the riverside village of Vuolenkoski, the village of the year in 2014 in Finland.

Further on to west, there's the Vierumäki Sports Institute and shortly afterwards the Highway 5 between Lahti and Heinola. It will take you either to Eastern Finland or towards Helsinki and Tampere.

Of course you can also make the trip starting from Lahti or Kouvola and drive from there to the south coast of Finland and Highway 7 between the towns of Kotka and Loviisa.